The First Hundred Hours
Now that the US midterm election is all but wrapped up (it will take several weeks for an official winner in Virginia to be declared but very few observors feel that the recount will change anything) we've had a chance to digest the rather major changes that swept the country last night. At first glance it appears that the Republicans are in serious trouble and that this is an event to rival the famed "Republican Revolution" of 1994 (this last statement has been picked up by the media despite its flawed nature - not only is there a historical trend for the president's party to lose during midterms elections, but these losses have been especially severe during every midterm election during a time of armed conflict dating back to WWI - the '94 power shift occurred during a time of peace and thus cannot be accurately paralleled to last night's events). One of my more Right-wing classmates wouldn't stop talking about how brutal last night was and even Bush described the election as a "thumpin'." The Republicans did get thrashed, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Indeed, I'd go so far as to say that it was a good day for center and center-right citizens.
First it is necessary to distinguish between ideology and political party, as ideology frequently dictates one's political affiliation but very few people pick their ideological leanings based on their favorite political party. And so while most Republican's ideological leanings are center and center-right, the two terms shouldn't be intertangled.
I mentioned in an earlier post the rather bizarre situation that occurred from Democrat voters electing Democrats while also banning gay marriage in 7 states(exit polls showed that the vast majority of all voters stuck to party lines so this isn't a case of Republicans voting for Democrats and conservative social issues simultaneously). That discovery only scratches the surface, however. Arizona voted to make English the official state language. Michigan, following in California's footsteps, made affirmative action a violation of the state constitution (they even went so far as to explicitly name the University of Michigan). Several state ballots proposed the legalization of medical marijuana. They all failed. Colorado voters banned both gay marriage AND civil unions. This brings the total number of states banning gay marriage to 27 (including the two most populous states, California and Texas) , a significant majority.
The rather startling conclusion (given last night's rout of the Republicans) is that, while the national election was a referendum on Bush, Iraq, and corruption, the voters showed their true colors on the state ballot initiatives. Indeed, it established that a majority of Americans are both (a) left-center, centrist, and center-right, and (b) they have no qualms about uniting to prevent the extremes from BOTH sides of the political spectrum (witness the rejection of the South Dakota ballot initiative that would have banned virtually all abortions) from controlling the issues they feel strongest about. Last night didn't signal a sudden conversion of the American masses to the radical Leftist ideology preached by Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi. Instead, it signaled that the majority of American voters are quite moderate and are willing to resort to a contingency plan when the current situation isn't working. This doesn't mean that the political shift in Congress is going to usher in a new welfare state. It means that the American populace is willing to give the Democrats a chance at attaining bipartisan government where the Republicans failed. In 1994 the American people threw out the Democrats after growing sick of judicial activism, Congressional corruption, and the infamous political correctness movement. Last night the same people brought the Democrats back after wearying of unilateral diplomacy, Congressional corruption, and one-party government.
Ultimately the real question is whether the Pelosi-led Democrats and Bush-led Republicans will be willing to cooperate on some of the major issues facing our country. Pelosi is considered to be something of a far-left politican and Bush her right-wing counterpart. Bush could easily take a page from Bill Clinton's playbook and veto his way to a stalemate during his remaining years in office - after all, doing so for six years in the face of a Republican Congress made Clinton a hero to the Democrats. First indicators give cause for hope, however. Bush is famed in Texas for being one of the most bipartisan executives that state has ever had. He obviously has the skill and now, for the first time, he also has the need to utilize that gift. Pelosi for her part has announced a plan for the First Hundred Hours that would make any classical liberal proud (not to be confused with the modern liberalism made famous by Ted Kennedy - the former has its origins with Adam Smith, the latter with Karl Marx): the withdrawal of all subsidies from the oil industry and their conversion into research towards alternative energy (true free market advocates hate the government practice of pouring money into failing companies to keep them alive), cutting in half the interest rates on student loans (low interest rates are always a boon to the economy), a streamlining of Medicare (a Democrat in favor of shrinking the government is a rare thing indeed), the implementation of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission's recommendations, and increased government research in stem cell treatments (government investment in R&D is quite different from propping up failing companies). The minimum wage hike is unfortunate from both a social and economic standpoint, but we'll save that for another post. Will it all happen? Probably not. Is it a impressive effort for a Leftist politician? Most certainly.
So fear not, fellow centrists and center-rights. President Bush isn't going to be executed for war crimes and we're not going to become the People's Republic of America. With any luck, we're about to experience our first bipartisan leadership in years and a government that truly caters to the more moderate elements that make up the overwhelming majority of both parties. This has never been more important, given the proliferation of serious issues that are true threats to America. We can't afford to stumble into a morass whilst bickering about abortion, welfare, and school vouchers. Important as many find those issues to be, they are vastly outweighed by urgent yet everday matters such as nuclear proliferation, Islamofascism/terrorism, globalization and our national economy. All of these issues require immediate bipartisan action if we are to adequately deal with them. The solutions to these issues, unlike the domestic issues mentioned above, require apolitical solutions. Now's the time to get our priorities straight. We've been given the opportunity to do so - now let us hope our leaders are willing to.
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